I was recently approached by fellow author, Chris Allen and
asked to jump aboard a ‘challenge’ (so to speak) currently sweeping around the
author types at the moment. It was an interesting idea. Answer ten questions
about the novel currently being written. So, without further ado, here’s what
to expect from the new novel being released this year:
1) What is the working title of your next
book?
The Reckoning.
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
Australia is one of the
free countries of the western world. However, unlike other countries, we were
not developed through long, bloody conflict on Australian soil and/or outright
civil war. I have always been interested in how Australia would fair if she
were invaded and ‘put to the sword’, so to speak. How would average, every day
Australians cope? And what about the Australian Defence Force, how would they
meet this new threat? Would they survive? I have always maintained a keen
interest in this topic. We Australians like to think we could stave off any threat
at any time, and if met with equal or slightly larger numbers, we probably
would. However, met with far superior numbers, would we pull through as well as
we might like to think? The idea of this book has been with me for many years.
It is realistic, gritty and dark.
3) What genre does
your book fall under?
The Reckoning is Fiction
and as always, falls under Action/Adventure.
4) What actors would
you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I hadn’t really thought about this, but after some brain storming, here goes:
Sam Worthington (SASR Corporal), Garry Sweet (angry old grand-father), Rachael Taylor (to play Sweet’s daughter), child actress (to play Taylor’s daughter), Ryan Corr (young Aussie caught up in the mess, falls in love with Taylor’s character), David Ngoombujarra (Norforce rifleman), Eric Banner (FA-18 Fighter pilot), David Wenham (infantry platoon commander), Masa Yamaguchi (SASR trooper) and Charles Mesure (Navy Clearance Diver). There are many other characters, but I’ll stop there for now.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of
your book?
Post invasion,
overwhelmed, exhausted and struggling to survive, the people of Australia enter
their darkest hour.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
At
this stage, The Reckoning will be an independent novel.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I am still
writing the manuscript, however, the first draft will be completed after 9 – 12
months and will be approximately 80,000 words in length.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Obviously, The
Reckoning is comparable to the series of books written by John Marsden, however
only to a point. The Reckoning is not aimed at the young adult market.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My service in
the Australian Defence Force inspired me to write this novel. The ADF are
trained how to fight, how to deploy on foreign soil as a large force, and what
to expect once they arrive at their destination. They are trained how to cope
with situations and environments that civilians may perceive as stressful.
However, very rarely, certainly never in my experience as a Rifleman in the
Army or working with aircraft (both in the RAAF and Army), are they ever
trained what to expect should a foreign power suddenly and successfully invade
Australia. Fellow soldiers playing enemy, creeping around the perimetre at
night whilst ‘out bush’ hissing, “I see you Aussie,” in hammy accents does not
count either.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
“That could
never happen,” I can hear the sceptics say. Remember, the ‘it can’t happen to
me’ bubble feels so very secure when you are within it, but bear in mind that
it is nothing more than that. A bubble.
In The
Reckoning, following a very cunning decoy which ties up all of Australia’s
anti-terrorist and quick reaction capability, the Indonesian Army makes
landfall, overwhelming and capturing the airport of a small regional city in
Queensland, called Mackay. How do you transport soldiers to fight this new
threat? The closest military city is Townsville, a four hour drive away. You
could fly them I suppose, but remember, Mackay airport has been captured and
Surface to Air Missile sites would now be dotted all over the city. The
aircraft would be shot down en route, or as it attempted to land. Within two
hours, enemy transport and fighter aircraft are landing in Mackay, refuelling
and commencing combat missions within the area. Rockhampton airport falls. You
can expect some light resistance by Australian Army reservist units, however they
have to be contacted by their unit, drive to work, have their personal weapons
issued from the armoury, have ammunition issued, load the ammunition, attend a
briefing as to what has happened, and
(assuming that whilst en route to work they weren’t intercepted and neutralised
by enemy forces) then be ready to fight.
The enemy
force would have established a very strong foothold in the area long before the
reservists are ready to employ weapons against the threat.
Once these
airports are captured, an invasion of Brisbane from both sea and air can commence.
The invasion from sea is unsuspected by Australia (you can find out how the
Indonesians do this by reading the book). This small part of the invasion I
have described is happening only in Queensland. Keep in mind that similar
incidents are happening in every state of Australia at the same time.
Within twenty
four hours every capital city of Australia is under attack by a numerous and
persistent enemy force. Most cities will fall into enemy hands. So you can see
now, that the invasion provides a very complex problem for the ADF. Australia’s
vast area defeats us, not to mention a fast, aggressive surprise attack by
Indonesia.
Will we
survive?
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